xviii. biology, high school

XVIII. Biology, High School

299

High School Biology TestThe spring 2014 high school Biology test was based on learning standards in the Biology content strand of the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2006). These learning standards appear on pages 54 –58 of the Framework.

The Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework is available on the Department website at www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/current.html.

Biology test results are reported under the following five MCAS reporting categories:

■ Biochemistry and Cell Biology

■ Genetics

■ Anatomy and Physiology

■ Ecology

■ Evolution and Biodiversity

The table at the conclusion of this chapter indicates each item’s reporting category and the framework learning standard it assesses. The correct answers for multiple-choice questions are also displayed in the table.

Test Sessions

The high school Biology test included two separate test sessions, which were administered on consecutive days. Each session included multiple-choice and open-response questions.

Reference Materials and Tools

The high school Biology test was designed to be taken without the aid of a calculator. Students were allowed to have calculators with them during testing, but calculators were not needed to answer questions.

The use of bilingual word-to-word dictionaries was allowed for current and former English language learner students only, during both Biology test sessions. No other reference tools or materials were allowed.

300MCAS_2014_Gr10_BIO_RID_WEB

BiologySeSSion 1

DIRECTIONSThis session contains twenty-one multiple-choice questions and two open-response questions. Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in your Student Answer Booklet. You may work out solutions to multiple-choice questions in the test booklet.

ID:285875 D Common EQ

●1 Which of the following statements describes a function of the human brain?

A. It produces ATP for organs but not for muscles.

B. It controls voluntary actions but not involuntary actions.

C. It is responsible for removing toxic compounds from the blood.

D. It is the main center for sensory and motor processing in the body.

ID:295298 A Common EQ

●2 Approximately 250 million years ago, over 90% of species living in the oceans became extinct. Which of the following conditions most likely contributed to this mass extinction?

A. changes in global climate

B. evolution of new parasite species

C. mutation of species’ DNA sequences

D. increases in the rates of photosynthesis

301

Biology Session 1

MCAS_2014_Gr10_BIO_RID_WEB

ID:275595 mm_lizards_edit.eps [opt_ D Common EQ

●3 Biologists studied a population of lizards. They found that small lizards had trouble defending their territories and that large lizards were more likely than small or medium lizards to be preyed upon by owls.

Which of the following graphs represents the most likely distribution for body size in this lizard population?

A.

Per

cent

of

Pop

ulat

ion

Small Medium LargeBody Size

B.

Per

cent

of

Pop

ulat

ion


C.

Per

cent

of

Pop

ulat

ion


D.

Per

cent

of

Pop

ulat

ion



●4 A newly discovered gene has two alleles, A and a. Scientists hypothesize that the alleles show incomplete dominance.

Which of the following statements provides evidence for incomplete dominance?

A. Analysis of the DNA shows that only males have genotype AA.

B. Individuals with genotype aa survive only a few days after birth.

C. Individuals with genotype AA and individuals with genotype Aa both have the same phenotype.

D. Crosses between two individuals with genotype Aa result in three different phenotypes among the offspring.

ID:235197 B Common EQ

●5 What is the primary role of photosynthesis in the carbon cycle?

A. releasing carbon to the oceans

B. removing carbon from the atmosphere

C. transferring carbon from the soil to organisms

D. transferring carbon from producers to decomposers

302

Biology Session 1



●6 A single gene with two alleles codes for the fruit color (red and yellow) of tomato plants. Two tomato plants heterozygous for fruit color are crossed. The table below shows the results of the cross.

FruitColor

Number ofOffspring Plants

red 157

yellow 52

Based on the results, what is the most likely inheritance pattern of the alleles for fruit color?

A. The alleles for red color and for yellow color are polygenic.

B. The alleles for red color and for yellow color are codominant.

C. The allele for red color is recessive to the allele for yellow color.

D. The allele for red color is dominant to the allele for yellow color.


●7 Sperm whales have vestigial hip bones, and a small percentage of sperm whales also have vestigial hind limbs. Which of the following statements best explains the presence of these vestigial structures in sperm whales?

A. Sperm whales evolved from ancestors that walked on land.

B. Sperm whales are in the process of evolving into land mammals.

C. These structures are acquired by each individual sperm whale during its lifetime.

D. These structures resulted from sperm whales having a long period of embryonic development.

303

Biology Session 1


The following section focuses on the elk population in Yellowstone National Park.

Read the information below and use it to answer the four multiple-choice questions and one open-response question that follow.

ID:274697 Elk_survey_graph.eps Common EQ

Yellowstone National Park is a large wildlife area located mostly in Wyoming. Yellowstone is home to many species of mammals, including elk. The elk feed on grasses and on cottonwood, aspen, and willow trees. Historically, a significant portion of the elk population died each winter because winters in Yellowstone were long and very cold, with deep snow.

Over the past 50 years the climate in Yellowstone has become warmer and snowfall amounts have decreased. More elk have been surviving the winters, but populations of scavengers have been decreasing. Scavengers feed on the carcasses of animals.

The reintroduction of gray wolves to Yellowstone in the 1990s has affected elk population size and has contributed to the recovery of some scavenger populations. The wolves prey on elk and other animals. When wolves make a kill, they feed until they are full and then they leave the carcass behind.

Researchers have studied the changes in elk mortality (number of deaths) in Yellowstone by using data and mathematical models to calculate the average number of elk that die (represented by number of carcasses) from November to April each year. The results, with wolves present and without wolves present, are shown in the graph below.

Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr.0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Month

Elk Mortality

Num

ber

of E

lk C

arca

sses

With wolvesWithout wolves

Key

304

Biology Session 1


Mark your answers to multiple-choice questions 8 through 11 in the spaces provided in your Student Answer Booklet. Do not write your answers in this test booklet, but you may work out solutions to multiple-choice questions in the test booklet.

ID:274698 Elk_survey_graph.eps C Common EQ

●8 To which trophic level do elk belong?

A. producer

B. decomposer

C. primary consumer

D. secondary consumer

ID:279505 Elk_survey_graph.eps A Common EQ

●9 Which process do elk and other Yellowstone animals use to convert energy in their food into ATP?

A. cellular respiration

B. filtration

C. osmosis

D. photosynthesis

ID:274706 Elk_survey_graph.eps C Common EQ

●10 Which of the following conditions does not contribute to the higher survival rate of elk during a mild winter?

A. Liquid water is more available to drink.

B. Snow is less deep and easier to walk through.

C. Death rates are low in other herbivore populations.

D. Plants are accessible and produce new growth sooner.

ID:279506 Elk_survey_graph.eps B Common EQ

●11 What is the primary type of interaction among the various scavenger species in Yellowstone?

A. commensalism

B. competition

C. mutualism

D. parasitism

305

Biology Session 1


Question 12 is an open-response question.

• BESURETOANSWERANDLABELALLPARTSOFTHEQUESTION.• Show all your work (diagrams, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.• If youdo thework inyourhead, explain inwritinghowyoudid thework.

Writeyouranswertoquestion12inthespaceprovidedinyourStudentAnswerBooklet.

ID:279504 Elk_survey_graph.eps; Sca Common EQ

●12 The Elk Mortality graph shows changes in elk mortality with wolves present and without wolves present.

a. Summarize what the Elk Mortality graph shows about elk mortality from November to April with wolves present and without wolves present.

Based on these data, scientists can estimate the size of scavenger populations through the winter. The graph below shows the size of a scavenger population with wolves present and without wolves present.

Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr.0

150

300

450

600

750

Month

Num

ber

of S

cave

nger

s

With wolvesWithout wolves

Key

Scavenger Population

b. Explain the cause of these data patterns for the scavenger population.

c. Describe one way that the wolves’ effect on the elk population could benefit organisms other than scavengers in the ecosystem.

306

Biology Session 1



ID:273485 C Common EQ

●13 In Labrador retrievers, the black fur allele (B) is dominant to the brown fur allele (b).

A black male dog and a brown female dog are mated and have a litter of eight puppies. Five puppies are black and three puppies are brown.

What are the genotypes of the parent dogs?

A. BB and Bb

B. Bb and Bb

C. Bb and bb

D. BB and bb


●14 Which of the following will most likely change when an enzyme is added to a reaction?

A. the pH of the reaction

B. the rate of the reaction

C. the products of the reaction

D. the temperature of the reaction


●15 In humans, the first seven pairs of rib bones are connected to the sternum (breastbone) by cartilage. Which of the following statements describes the main reason why cartilage is important in these bone-to-bone connections?

A. The cartilage keeps the bones from touching the heart.

B. The cartilage pulls on the ribs to draw air into the lungs.

C. The cartilage makes the rib cage flexible enough to expand during breathing.

D. The cartilage provides a location for the diaphragm muscle to attach to the lungs.

307

Biology Session 1



●16 Which of the following statements describes a difference between how viruses reproduce and how cells reproduce?

A. Viruses can reproduce sexually or asexually, whereas cells only reproduce sexually.

B. Viruses reproduce by DNA translation, whereas cells reproduce by DNA transcription.

C. Viruses need carbon dioxide to reproduce, but cells need oxygen to reproduce.

D. Viruses need to enter a living cell to reproduce, but cells reproduce on their own.


●17 The Ursidae family of animals includes the giant panda, the brown bear, the polar bear, and the spectacled bear. Which of the following characteristics best helps classify these bears into genus and species levels?

A. eating habits

B. gene sequences

C. method of reproduction

D. location of natural habitat


●18 Based on the results of genetic crosses, Mendel concluded that the alleles for seed color and seed shape in pea plants assorted independently. Which of the following statements best explains why the alleles for each trait assorted independently in Mendel’s experiments?

A. The alleles were all recessive.

B. The alleles were all dominant.

C. The alleles were on separate chromosomes.

D. The alleles were inherited in a sex-linked manner.

308

Biology Session 1


ID:296667 WHIKAR040_digestive.eps [ D Common EQ

●19 The diagram below shows a system in the human body. Four parts of the system are numbered.

4

1

2

3

Which of the following correctly identifies the four numbered parts?

A. 1. pharynx2. diaphragm3. large intestine4. rectum

B. 1. esophagus2. liver3. large intestine4. spleen

C. 1. trachea2. stomach3. small intestine4. gall bladder

D. 1. esophagus2. stomach3. small intestine4. rectum

309

Biology Session 1



●20 Scientists compared the DNA sequence of a gene in four mammals. A portion of the gene’s DNA sequence in each mammal is shown below.

Mammal DNA Sequence

1 TCTCAACTACAA

2 TCTCAGCTGCAA

3 ACTCAGCTACAA

4 TCTCAGCTGCAG

Based on the sequence data, which of the mammals are most closely related to each other?

A. mammals 1 and 2

B. mammals 1 and 3

C. mammals 2 and 4

D. mammals 3 and 4


●21 Cellulose is a compound found in plants. It is made of a long chain of molecules with ringed structures. The molecules contain mostly carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms in a ratio of approximately 1 carbon : 2 hydrogen : 1 oxygen.

To which category of biological molecules does cellulose belong?

A. carbohydrates

B. nucleic acids

C. phospholipids

D. proteins


●22 Growth hormone, estrogen, and thyroxine are some hormones secreted by endocrine glands. What is the role of these hormones?

A. to generate nerve impulses

B. to regulate body functions

C. to directly supply energy to cells

D. to directly remove toxins from the body

310

Biology Session 1



• BESURETOANSWERANDLABELALLPARTSOFTHEQUESTION.• Showallyourwork (diagrams, tables,orcomputations) inyourStudentAnswerBooklet.• Ifyoudo thework inyourhead,explain inwritinghowyoudid thework.

Writeyouranswertoquestion23inthe space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

ID:281196 Common EQ

●23 Sharks typically reproduce sexually. A particular female shark, however, gave birth in a zoo despite having no recent contact with a male shark.

a. Identify the type of cell division that produces eggs and sperm in animals such as sharks.

b. Describe what normally happens during fertilization in animals such as sharks. Be sure to identify the end product of fertilization.

Female sharks can store sperm after mating and then wait to fertilize their eggs. Scientists investigated whether the female shark in the zoo did this.

c. Describe how DNA analysis can determine if the shark reproduced using stored sperm or if she reproduced asexually. Be sure to include the source(s) of DNA being analyzed and the results of the analysis in your answer.

d. Explain why sexual reproduction is important for the long-term survival of shark species.


BiologySeSSion 2

DIRECTIONSThis session contains nineteen multiple-choice questions and three open-response questions. Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in your Student Answer Booklet. You may work out solutions to multiple-choice questions in the test booklet.


●24 What is the genetic material in the chromosomes of an animal’s cells?

A. DNA

B. glucosamine

C. RNA

D. transcriptase


●25 Which of the following structures helps maintain the shape of a plant cell even when water is scarce?

A. cell wall

B. endoplasmic reticulum

C. Golgi apparatus

D. plasma membrane


●26 An enzyme moves along a strand of DNA and produces a new nucleic acid strand. Part of the new strand is shown below.

GUACUCGGCAAUUUCGCA

Which of the following cellular processes created the new strand?

A. active transport

B. crossing over

C. replication

D. transcription


Biology Session 2

ID:290019 87638.eps [stem_01, opt_a A Common EQ

●27 In a certain population, the death rate is greater than the birth rate from year 1 to year 2, and the immigration rate equals the emigration rate. Which of the following graphs represents this information?

A.

Pop

ulat

ion

Size

Year1 2 3

400

300

200

100

0

B.

Pop

ulat

ion

Size

Year10 2 3

400

300

200

100

C.

Pop

ulat

ion

Size

0

400

300

200

100

Year1 2 3

D.

Pop

ulat

ion

Size

Year10 2 3

400

300

200

100


●28 A scientist is studying gene expression in a prokaryote. Which of the following organisms could the scientist be studying?

A. Bacillus subtilis, a bacterium

B. Leucobryum glaucum, a moss

C. Lycoperdon pyriforme, a fungus

D. Caenorhabditis elegans, a roundworm


Biology Session 2

ID:296786 WHIKAR048_otterweb.eps D Common EQ

●29 The diagram below shows part of an ocean food web.

Seaweed

Sea urchins Small fish Crabs

Large fish

Sea otters

Sharks

Which of the following changes will most likely occur if the sea otter population decreases?

A. The shark population will increase.

B. The seaweed population will increase.

C. The small fish population will increase.

D. The sea urchin population will increase.


●30 Different types of cells in the human body undergo mitosis at different rates. Which of the following statements best explains why skin cells frequently undergo mitosis?

A. Skin cells contain molecules of DNA.

B. Skin cells constantly need to be replaced or repaired.

C. Skin cells have large numbers of sensory nerve receptors.

D. Skin cells constantly need to produce antibodies to fight off infections.


●31 Some types of bacteria are able to perform photosynthesis. These bacteria must therefore contain which of the following in their membranes?

A. chlorophyll

B. glucose

C. mitochondria

D. ribosomes


Biology Session 2


• BE SURETOANSWERANDLABELALLPARTSOFTHEQUESTION.• Showallyourwork (diagrams, tables,orcomputations) inyourStudentAnswerBooklet.• If youdo thework inyourhead, explain inwritinghowyoudid thework.


ID:281157 DaepetOR4_shrew.eps, Daep Common EQ

●32 An elephant shrew and a shrew are pictured below.

Elephant Shrew Shrew

For many years, scientists had classified elephant shrews in the same family as shrews. In the 1990s, however, scientists gathered evidence for the evolutionary tree below and reclassified elephant shrews into a different family from shrews.

Shrew

s

Roden

ts

Golde

n mol

es

Elepha

nt sh

rews

Aardv

arks

Man

atees

Hyrax

es

Elepha

nts

a. Describe the most likely reason why scientists originally classified elephant shrews with shrews.

b. Using the evolutionary tree, identify the groups to which elephant shrews are most closely related.

c. Identify and explain the evidence scientists most likely used to build the evolutionary tree and reclassify elephant shrews.

d. Identify one other type of evidence that scientists use to determine evolutionary relationships and build evolutionary trees.


Biology Session 2



●33 A mutation occurs in an individual, but the individual’s phenotype does not change.

Which of the following statements describes what most likely occurred to produce this result?

A. The mutation deleted a portion of a coding section of the DNA.

B. The mutation caused a portion of a coding section of the DNA to repeat.

C. The mutation affected a nucleotide in the DNA, but the mutation did not affect the sequence of amino acids synthesized.

D. The mutation translocated a group of nucleotides in the DNA, but the mutation did not change the number of base pairs in the DNA.


●34 Which of the following is a characteristic of human reproduction?

A. The DNA of an egg cell is identical to the DNA of a sperm cell.

B. Twin offspring are genetically identical to each of their parents.

C. An egg cell and a sperm cell each contain 46 chromosomes in the nucleus.

D. An offspring receives half its chromosomes from its mother and half from its father.


●35 What directly supplies the energy needed to actively transport sodium ions across the plasma membrane of a cell?

A. ATP

B. DNA

C. enzymes

D. lipids


Biology Session 2


●36 The taxonomic classifications of three animals are shown below.

African Buffalo

Burchell’s Zebra

Grant’s Gazelle

Animalia

Chordata

Mammalia

Artiodactyla

Bovidae

Syncerus

caffer

Animalia

Chordata

Mammalia

Perissodactyla

Equidae

Equus

burchellii

Animalia

Chordata

Mammalia

Artiodactyla

Bovidae

Nanger

granti

Which of the following conclusions can be made from this information?

A. The zebra and the gazelle belong to the same order.

B. The buffalo and the gazelle belong to the same genus.

C. The buffalo and the gazelle are more closely related to each other than to the zebra.

D. The zebra and the gazelle are more closely related to each other than to the buffalo.


●37 Scientists measured and recorded the average body size in a bird population over time. One year, a period of cold weather killed many of the birds. A few generations later, the scientists observed that the average body size in the population was larger than it had been before the cold weather. The scientists concluded that the population had evolved through natural selection.

Which of the following would provide the best evidence to support the scientists’ conclusion?

A. The size of the bird eggs also increased over time.

B. The birds with the largest body size were the males.

C. The frequency of alleles for body size changed in the bird population.

D. The number of birds in the population had decreased by 50% or more.


Biology Session 2


●38 The three-spined stickleback is a species of fish. It lives in the ocean and in streams that flow into the ocean. Some scientists think that the ocean populations and stream populations may be evolving into separate species.

Which of the following statements describes how speciation of these fish would most likely occur?

A. Fish from stream populations would start to reach maturity at the same time as fish from ocean populations.

B. Fish from stream populations would sometimes swim into the ocean but fish from ocean populations would stop swimming into streams.

C. Ocean populations and stream populations would each mate fewer times per year and would have decreased birth rates over time.

D. Ocean populations and stream populations would each adapt differently to their environments and would accumulate enough differences over time to prevent interbreeding.


●39 In rabbits, a single gene with two alleles codes for ear shape. Two rabbits, each with a homozygous genotype, are mated. The female rabbit has straight ears and the male rabbit has floppy ears. All the offspring have straight ears.

Which of the following conclusions about rabbit genetics is best supported by the results of the cross?

A. Offspring rabbits receive alleles only from their mothers.

B. The allele for straight ears is dominant to the allele for floppy ears.

C. Alleles in female rabbits are always more dominant than alleles in male rabbits.

D. The allele for straight ears and the allele for floppy ears are on different chromosomes.


Biology Session 2


●40 In a certain insect species, body color varies from very light gray to very dark gray. These insects are eaten by birds that find their prey by sight.

A brush fire occurs, blackening the ground where one population of this insect species lives. Which of the following is most likely to occur over the next few years?

A. The body color in the population will mutate to black.

B. The percentage of very dark gray individuals will increase.

C. The distribution of body color in the population will not change.

D. The very light gray individuals will learn how to reproduce at a later age.

ID:212488 VMN_Cellsx4.eps [opt_a01, B Common EQ

●41 Photosynthesis is most likely to occur in which of the following cells?

A. Mitochondrion

B. Central vacuole

C. Contractile vacuole

D. DNA


Biology Session 2


●42 Many farm animals eat hay, which is made by cutting and drying plants such as ryegrass and timothy grass. Scientists analyzed the composition of hay after it was cut and again after it was dried.

The amounts of which common biological elements would have decreased the most as the hay dried?

A. sulfur and calcium

B. phosphorus and zinc

C. oxygen and hydrogen

D. nitrogen and chlorine


●43 Many individuals in wild animal populations die at a young age. Which of the following factors most directly limits lifespan and therefore has a large effect on a species’ population size?

A. low birth rate

B. low immigration rate

C. high prey numbers

D. high predator numbers


Biology Session 2

Questions 44 and 45 are open-response questions.

• BESURETOANSWERANDLABELALLPARTSOFEACHQUESTION.• Showallyourwork (diagrams, tables,orcomputations) inyourStudentAnswerBooklet.• Ifyoudo thework inyourhead,explain inwritinghowyoudid thework.

Writeyouranswertoquestion44inthe space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

ID:299793 MALVIR031.eps [sg01, sg02 Common EQ

●44 The inheritance patterns for some traits in guinea pigs are listed in the table below.

Trait Dominant Allele Recessive Allele

hair length short (H) long (h)

hair color black (B) white (b)

hair texture rough (R) smooth (r)

a. Identify the phenotype of a guinea pig with the genotype HhBBrr.

b. Using allele symbols in the table above, identify the genotype of a guinea pig that is recessive for hair length, heterozygous for hair color, and homozygous dominant for hair texture.

Suppose the guinea pigs from parts (a) and (b) are crossed.

c. Identify the percent of offspring that will have black hair. To support your answer, draw a Punnett square for the hair color trait.

d. Considering only hair length, identify the expected phenotype ratio of the offspring. Draw a Punnett square to support your answer.


Biology Session 2


ID:296812 Common EQ

●45 The human body works to keep its blood glucose level within a narrow range. The hormones insulin and glucagon have important roles in this process: insulin decreases the blood glucose level, and glucagon increases the blood glucose level.

Many different factors, including exercise, can affect a person’s blood glucose level.

a. Describe how a healthy person’s blood glucose level most likely changes after 45 minutes of intense exercise. Explain your answer.

b. Based on your answer to part (a), describe how a healthy person’s body responds to restore homeostasis with regard to blood glucose after exercising.

c. Describe another example of how exercise disrupts homeostasis in the body and how the body responds to restore homeostasis.


HighSchoolBiology Spring2014ReleasedItems:

Reporting Categories, Standards, and Correct Answers*

ItemNo. Page No. Reporting Category StandardCorrect Answer

(MC)*

1 300 Anatomy and Physiology 4.4 D

2 300 Ecology 6.2 A

3 301 Evolution and Biodiversity 5.3 D

4 301 Genetics 3.4 D

5 301 Ecology 6.4 B


7 302 Evolution and Biodiversity 5.1 A

8 304 Ecology 6.3 C

9 304 Biochemistry and Cell Biology 2.4 A

10 304 Ecology 6.2 C

11 304 Ecology 6.3 B

12 305 Ecology 6.2

13 306 Genetics 3.6 C

14 306 Biochemistry and Cell Biology 1.3 B

15 306 Anatomy and Physiology 4.5 C

16 307 Biochemistry and Cell Biology 2.8 D

17 307 Evolution and Biodiversity 5.2 B



20 309 Evolution and Biodiversity 5.1 C


22 309 Anatomy and Physiology 4.7 B

23 310 Biochemistry and Cell Biology 2.7

24 311 Genetics 3.1 A



27 312 Ecology 6.1 A


29 313 Ecology 6.3 D



32 314 Evolution and Biodiversity 5.1






38 317 Evolution and Biodiversity 5.2 D

39 317 Genetics 3.4 B


ItemNo. Page No. Reporting Category StandardCorrect Answer

(MC)*

40 318 Evolution and Biodiversity 5.3 B


42 319 Biochemistry and Cell Biology 1.1 C

43 319 Ecology 6.1 D

44 320 Genetics 3.6

45 321 Anatomy and Physiology 4.8

* Answers are provided here for multiple-choice items only. Sample responses and scoring guidelines for open-response items, which are indicated by the shaded cells, will be posted to the Department’s website later this year.

xviii. biology, high school

Documents